Purple Heart
by BonnibellParker
Summary: Shiro's been growing progressively more distant as time went on and Keith and Lance are starting to worry? They didn't know the secret he kept. No one did. What will they do when they find out what's wrong? Will it be too late?


They'd just gotten back from another mission when Allura rushed over to greet them. "Thank goodness you all made it back alive. You had me worried!" She near shouted, placing her hand over her heart.

"I'm sorry, princess. Our communications got knocked out and we couldn't tell you we were okay." Shiro said softly, his usual kind smile played on his face. Her worried expression was quickly replaced with a happier, gentler one. "Well, at least you made it back." She said softly, relief washing over her.

"Of course we did, princess. We are the paladins of voltron. Nothing could take us down." Lance chimed in, flashing his usual confident smile to her. Keith chuckled, shaking his head as he made his way to the couch in the center of the lounge they were in. "Glad to see that nothing can break that cockiness of yours." He said, smirking at Lance as he sat down. Lance rolled his eyes, following and plopping on the spot beside him and resting his arm behind Keith. "Yeah, but it's one of the many things you love about me." Shiro glanced over to the two, smiling to himself before he turned around and started to walk towards the rooms. "Hey. Where ya going, Shiro?" Lance asked, noticing his receding figure.

"I'm just gonna turn in early. It's been a long day." He said, waving them off without turning to face them. "Oh...We were gonna celebrate a job well done though. It wouldn't feel the same without you." Lance yelled to him, not getting a response in return. Keith had looked toward the hall Shiro walked to, sighing. This hadn't been the first time Shiro left early after a mission. This had actually been going on for weeks now. Shiro had slowly started growing more and more distant suddenly, and it was beginning to worry Lance and Keith. Before then it had seemed like they were all growing really close. Somewhere between friends and something more, but every time they'd tried to be more, Shiro would find a way to leave quickly. Maybe they were getting the wrong idea.

Lance frowned, leaning back more into the couch. "Maybe...we should ask if everything's alright. He seems out of it lately, like something's bothering him." Pidge shrugged, laying down on the opposite couch and shutting her eyes. "He seemed fine earlier. And it has been a long day. I'm sure he's just tired. We all are." She stated, stretching out. "Yeah. I'm sure if it was anything serious he'd tell us. He's our leader, we should have faith in him that he wouldn't hide anything from us." Hunk assured them, trying to ease the worry in his friends. He knew how much they cared for Shiro, both having confided in him about their feelings towards Shiro. "Besides. You asked him last week and he told you not to worry. That everything was fine. So there isn't anything to worry about." Pidge pointed out, folding her arms beneath her head.

"Yeah...I guess." Keith muttered, sighing as he got up. "We all might as well get some rest before dinner." He stated, walking towards his own room. "Yes, I think that's for the best." Allura said gently, smiling sadly as she watched Lance and Keith leave. Pidge followed after them, yawning. "We'll see you later, princess."

It was a few hours later when everyone gathered in the dining room to eat. Everyone but Shiro that was. "He's even skipping out on dinner? What gives?" Lance near shouted, frowning at the empty seat. "I'm sure he's just tired." Allura tried reasoning, but even she began to worry. Hunk sighed, standing from his seat and turned to leave. "I'm gonna go talk to him. See if he's hungry."

Shiro had just gotten out of the shower, getting dressed. He sighed as he looked to the metallic arm he had. He couldn't remember exactly when it started, but he had begun to figure out why. The arm that was given to him was slowly beginning to infect him and spread throughout his body and it was inching closer and closer to his heart. He thanked whatever god was above that his clothes could hide it from the others. He noticed it spread further with anything that got his heart pumping, making his heart and blood rush faster, allowing whatever it was that spread to go further and further. It had only gotten worse recently. Between the fighting and...them...it was spreading fast. He sighed, going to pull his shirt on when Hunk walked in. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the purple veins that seemed to grow from his metal arm.

Hunk quickly grew concerned. "What's going on? What is that?" Shiro sighed, glancing back to Hunk. "I'm not entirely sure. I started noticing it a few weeks ago." He said, pulling the shirt on over his head. "But I know what is making it get worse." He sighed, sitting down on the bed. Hunk walked over, sitting beside him. "It's...being around them." He finally said quietly after a few short moments. A small smile slowly pulled onto his lips, keeping his gaze to the floor. "You mean...Lance and...Keith?" Hunk asked quietly, already knowing how the two felt about Shiro. Shiro only nodded, the smile turning sad. "I...started to realize how I felt for them. But I noticed the more time I spent with them the faster it spread. Nothing gets your heart pumping faster than love, so I've tried to...distance myself from them. Get them to move on."

Hunk smiled sadly to his friend, resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder before getting up. "I'll have Coran bring you something to eat later...and probably go tell everyone you're okay. Wouldn't want anyone to worry anymore." Shiro looked up to Hunk, nodding in agreement. "Thank you, Hunk. I appreciate it." He smiled. Hunk nodded, leaving and shutting the door behind him. He needed to tell Lance and Keith. Maybe if they knew, they'd be more careful. Shiro won't have to hide in his room anymore. He started back to the dining room, everyone's attention on him once he returned. "So?" Keith asked, walking over with Lance. "Is he okay?" Hunk nodded, smiling to them. "He told me what's wrong. He's been trying to keep his distance from you two. He loves you both, but it's-"

Before Hunk could finish, the two start to run towards Shiro's room. They knew he loved them back. Hunk took a moment before registering what happened before his heart fell. He quickly turned to try and catch up with them, yelling after them to stop. Pidge and the others followed behind, concern and worry beginning to wash over them.

Keith and Lance ignored Hunks yelling, running as fast as they could to his room. Keith burst in the room, breathing heavily as Lance followed in behind. "We knew it." Keith said, feeling out of breath as he and Lance walked to him quickly. He could feel it begin to spread further, but he didn't try to stop them. He couldn't bring himself to. Lance wrapped his arms around him from behind, smiling brightly. His heart beat quicker with every move they made. Keith did the same, his arms around Shiro's neck to pull him into a kiss. It was soft and loving. Something Shiro thought he'd never get to feel. He never moved to stop them, slowly feeling it reach his heart. Lance had began to lift the shirt off, stopping the moment he saw the purple spread. Before he or Keith could comprehend what had happened, Shiro's consciousness began to fade, his body going limp in their arms. But he welcomed it, feeling safe and warm in their embrace. It was the last thing he would remember. Lance and Keith began to panic, trying to keep him awake with no success. Tears began to form and fall from their eyes, holding the now limp body close to them.

"What happened?" Allura asked once she reached the room, tears forming in her own eyes at the scene before her. They others arrived behind her and Hunk, gasping and rushing to their side. "Love...Love happened." Hunk said sadly, shoulders slumping. "And he welcomed it."

He was gone.


End file.
